Red Mosquito

Strat wrote:

Birds in Hell wrote:

stip wrote:

Birds in Hell wrote:

LetMeSleep wrote:

Hear the sirens covering distance in the night
The sound, echoing closer, will they come for me, next time?

For every choice, mistake I made, is not my plan
To send you in the arms of another man
And if you choose to stay, I'll wait, I'll understand

This is where the lyrics turn. What the hell has another man got to do with this bloody song?

As I've discussed here many times, I am not a "lyrics guy". My preference is for mysterious sounding nonsense, Cropduster and In the Moonlight are among my favourite lyrics for this reason. I like the words to act as almost like percussive instruments rather than conveying some kind of clear textual meaning.

All of that said, I agree with LMS that the above lines are really jarring and totally take me out of the song. They don't even feel like organically Vedder/Pearl Jam lyrics, I'm not sure what he was going for at all.

The other part I can't stand is the phrase "this here town" used earlier in the song, which is like nails on a chalkboard. You know how presidential candidates are pilloried for being too "folksy"? That line gives me that feeling, there's nothing genuine about the phrasing. Does Ed go through life saying "this here town"? Or, for that matter, "he be havin' lots of women" in Johnny Guitar? It feels totally inauthentic and almost pandering, though to whom I'm not sure. Does it arise from an insecurity about being old and out of touch? I don't know, but it's very off-putting.

i can see that in sirens, but johnny guitar is a character, and i think that lyric works in that context

I don't hear any indication of that line being delivered by a character, other than the song's "narrator" (for lack of a better term) which seems to be Ed himself.

He's clearly inhibiting johnny guitar watson. He's discussed that he saw this album cover and imagined what it would be like to be that guy on the cover. Its clearly a character driven song.

dad wrote:

Birds in Hell wrote:I always understood it was "further north, a warmth alive and lingering", which is definitely the only Pearl Jam lyric I can think of which graphically describes a vagina.

That’s how I’ve always heard it as well.

Birds in Hell wrote:

Strat wrote:

Birds in Hell wrote:

stip wrote:

Birds in Hell wrote:

LetMeSleep wrote:

Hear the sirens covering distance in the night
The sound, echoing closer, will they come for me, next time?

For every choice, mistake I made, is not my plan
To send you in the arms of another man
And if you choose to stay, I'll wait, I'll understand

This is where the lyrics turn. What the hell has another man got to do with this bloody song?

As I've discussed here many times, I am not a "lyrics guy". My preference is for mysterious sounding nonsense, Cropduster and In the Moonlight are among my favourite lyrics for this reason. I like the words to act as almost like percussive instruments rather than conveying some kind of clear textual meaning.

All of that said, I agree with LMS that the above lines are really jarring and totally take me out of the song. They don't even feel like organically Vedder/Pearl Jam lyrics, I'm not sure what he was going for at all.

The other part I can't stand is the phrase "this here town" used earlier in the song, which is like nails on a chalkboard. You know how presidential candidates are pilloried for being too "folksy"? That line gives me that feeling, there's nothing genuine about the phrasing. Does Ed go through life saying "this here town"? Or, for that matter, "he be havin' lots of women" in Johnny Guitar? It feels totally inauthentic and almost pandering, though to whom I'm not sure. Does it arise from an insecurity about being old and out of touch? I don't know, but it's very off-putting.

i can see that in sirens, but johnny guitar is a character, and i think that lyric works in that context

I don't hear any indication of that line being delivered by a character, other than the song's "narrator" (for lack of a better term) which seems to be Ed himself.

He's clearly inhibiting johnny guitar watson. He's discussed that he saw this album cover and imagined what it would be like to be that guy on the cover. Its clearly a character driven song.

I can't believe I'm stuck in a lyrical interpretation discussion, kill me.

"Johnny Guitar Watson staring at me" - if Ed is inhabiting the character of JGW, then who is the "me" being referred to in this line?

It's clearly a lyric sung form the perspective of an external narrator of some kind, whether intended to be Ed himself or someone else.

Birds in Hell wrote:

Strat wrote:

Birds in Hell wrote:

stip wrote:

Birds in Hell wrote:

LetMeSleep wrote:

Hear the sirens covering distance in the night
The sound, echoing closer, will they come for me, next time?

For every choice, mistake I made, is not my plan
To send you in the arms of another man
And if you choose to stay, I'll wait, I'll understand

This is where the lyrics turn. What the hell has another man got to do with this bloody song?

As I've discussed here many times, I am not a "lyrics guy". My preference is for mysterious sounding nonsense, Cropduster and In the Moonlight are among my favourite lyrics for this reason. I like the words to act as almost like percussive instruments rather than conveying some kind of clear textual meaning.

All of that said, I agree with LMS that the above lines are really jarring and totally take me out of the song. They don't even feel like organically Vedder/Pearl Jam lyrics, I'm not sure what he was going for at all.

The other part I can't stand is the phrase "this here town" used earlier in the song, which is like nails on a chalkboard. You know how presidential candidates are pilloried for being too "folksy"? That line gives me that feeling, there's nothing genuine about the phrasing. Does Ed go through life saying "this here town"? Or, for that matter, "he be havin' lots of women" in Johnny Guitar? It feels totally inauthentic and almost pandering, though to whom I'm not sure. Does it arise from an insecurity about being old and out of touch? I don't know, but it's very off-putting.

i can see that in sirens, but johnny guitar is a character, and i think that lyric works in that context

I don't hear any indication of that line being delivered by a character, other than the song's "narrator" (for lack of a better term) which seems to be Ed himself.

He's clearly inhibiting johnny guitar watson. He's discussed that he saw this album cover and imagined what it would be like to be that guy on the cover. Its clearly a character driven song.

I can't believe I'm stuck in a lyrical interpretation discussion, kill me.

"Johnny Guitar Watson staring at me" - if Ed is inhabiting the character of JGW, then who is the "me" being referred to in this line?

It's clearly a lyric sung form the perspective of an external narrator of some kind, whether intended to be Ed himself or someone else.

theplatypus wrote:There's no "conversation". It's a song told from the point of view of a person obsessed with a girl on a Johnny Guitar Watson album cover. I like the song a lot but agree with Spenno that those lines are cringy

Birds in Hell wrote:I always understood it was "further north, a warmth alive and lingering", which is definitely the only Pearl Jam lyric I can think of which graphically describes a vagina.

tragabigzanda wrote:I really like the lyrics to Johnny Guitar, and generally appreciate any of Ed's more recent turns of phrase that don't have to do with waves/sun/cars/getting away.

bodysnatcher wrote:Maybe Ed will write a song about the underboob on Ween’s “chocolate and cheese”

WtOB? wrote:sirens is better than johnny guitar.

WtOB? wrote:sirens is better than johnny guitar.